Lengthy MRT train breakdown affects peak hour commuter crowd

Train service between Dhoby Ghaut and HarbourFront MRT station was disrupted on Thursday morning and was restored at about 4:35pm. It seems that this is the nth time that the MRT is facing disruptions already. According to Yahoo News! the peak hour train service on the North East Line (NEL) between the Dhoby Ghaut and HarbourFront MRT stations were unavailable due to an overhead power supply problem in the tunnel at Outram Park station, which according to the Land Transport Authority was because smoke was detected earlier in the tunnel between Outram and HarbourFront stations. SBS Transit, the operator of the NEL line said via twitter that it is working to rectify the fault but train service at the affected stretch will not be available for the next few hours.

With the disruptions that have before, there is now (apparently) better organized free bus bridging services at designated bus stops made available to help affected commuters. But still, the damage has already been done as the disruption comes during morning peak hour traffic as people are on their way to work.

Yes, there are (thankfully) free bus bridging services to help the unfortunate commuters trying to get to work, but this is not the first disruption. When it happens during the peak hours, frustration and a sense of helplessness are bound to set in, especially when measures have been taken to slow down the trains, but disruptions start to occur more frequently. What else can frustrated commuters do but be frustratedly thankful for a situation they have no control over?